Meet Green Visakha target before monsoon, industries told

District Collector tells units to approach VUDA in case of any problem

Industries participating in the implementation of the Green Visakha Project have been told to complete the yearly target for plantation before the monsoon season ends.

District Collector V. Seshadri said plantation at allotted areas by the industries should be planned properly and taken up immediately.

He was reviewing the status and implementation of the Green Visakha Project at a meeting with the VUDA Vice-Chairman N. Yuvaraj and Joint Collector K Praveen Kumar at the VUDA Office here on Friday.

The District Collector asked the industries to carry forward the backlog with the fresh target.

The Green Visakha project was an initiative recommended by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology, Environment and Forests, headed by T. Subbarami Reddy to check pollution in Visakhapatnam. It envisaged planting of 40 lakh saplings over a period of five years under the corporate social responsibility by various industries.

The mission has been taken up by the District Administration, VUDA, GVMC and the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board for which the VUDA is acting as the nodal agency. The target for 2012-13 was to plant 10.75 lakh saplings but up to May 2013 only 7.19 lakh were planted. For 2013-14 the target is 8.9 lakh saplings.

Areas were already been allotted to the industries for taking up plantation and the District Collector told them to approach the VUDA authorities if any problem occurs relating to identification of lands of plantation of saplings.

Slideshow

A group of visually-challenged students wrote the Secondary School Certificate examination 2015 (for Class X) at Bhashyam School in Visakhapatnam. They were guided to their exam hall and seat by teacher and students of class IX wrote on paper for them sitting next to the examinees. Photos: K.R. Deepak